2012: End of the world?
The year 2000: millions around the world awaited the coming of the new year on Dec. 31, 1999 as they fearfully anticipated the destruction of technology and thus the end of mankind. The Y2K scare caused many to panic at the thought of computers crashing at the turn of the century, and now in 2012, a similar fear has spread throughout the world for no concrete reason.
Some DHS students are among a widespread group of people who believe that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012 due to the end of the Mayan’s “Long Count” calendar. However, this group fails to interpret the end of the calendar correctly, as the date Dec. 21, 2012 doesn’t mark the end of the world, but rather the end of a “Long Count” cycle.
Yet for the faithful believer who chooses not to accept that 2012 merely marks the end of a cycle that will restart on Dec. 22, 2012, abcnews.go.com cites that the date itself could have a marginal error of 50 to 100 years. Therefore, it still holds true that there is no concrete evidence of the world ending in 2012.
Junior Omar Abdel-Ghaffar agrees that the probability of the world ending in 2012 is slim, considering there is no scientific reasoning behind the theory.
“If we sit down and think about it scientifically, I don’t believe that the chances are too big,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like any scientific institution has predicted a huge catastrophe [happening in the next year], or at least none which I have heard of.”
He is right in that no scientists have predicted any object from outer space hitting the earth, or any signs of natural disasters occurring on the earth this year.
In 2009, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) posted an article on its website answering frequently asked questions regarding the end of the world in 2012. The scientists who answered the questions clearly side with the nonbelievers of doomsday on Dec. 21, 2012.
They also believe the cause of the uproar about 2012 was not solely caused by misconceptions of the Mayan calendar, but was the linking of two fables: the end of the Mayan cycle and the internet hoax of a planet named Nibiru colliding with the Earth.
Now, there are added coincidences of ancient prophecies that people and societies around the world are resting their faiths in. According to one’s particular beliefs, those coincidences may simply be coincidences or could be signs of warning.
Abdel-Ghaffar is skeptical of the world ending in 2012, but believes that the world will eventually come to an end.
“I believe it will [end] in some way or other. It doesn’t take much to realize that humans are using the earth in a way that can’t keep happening,” Abdel-Ghaffar said. “Sure it won’t necessarily be as dramatic as we think, but I think that there will come an end of the world as we know it, whether gradual or sudden.”
He adds that the reason he believes people like the possibility of the world ending this year is because humans like excitement in life.
“Well, we all like superstitions and a sense of excitement in our lives, so it is natural to have that kind of feeling,” he said. “I think a lot of people believe it because we as Americans are fascinated by ancient and developed cultures.”
